SERVICE CORPS OF RETIRED EXECUTIVES (SCORE)

The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) is a national non-profit
organization that counsels business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.
There are 389 SCORE chapters throughout the United States offering
counseling services to small businesses in all areas at no charge to the
client. There is no membership requirement to receive SCORE
counseling—a phone call to make an appointment with a local SCORE
chapter is sufficient to put the small business owner in touch with this
valuable organization.

HISTORY
SCORE was founded in 1964 specifically to provide business counseling to
entrepreneurs. A national non-profit organization, SCORE is funded
primarily by the U.S. Small Business Administration (founded in 1953). The
group is made up of more than 13,000 active and retired business
executives familiar with all areas of business management. This group
donates their services, conducting one-to-one counseling, team counseling,
and training sessions. It now provides assistance to an estimated 300,000
would-be entrepreneurs and business owners annually, and in 2000 it
counseled 377,000 small businesses.

MISSION AND PROGRAMS
According to SCORE, volunteers "serve as 'Counselors to
America's Small Business.' " The volunteer members of
the organization are "dedicated to entrepreneur education and the
formation, growth and success of small business nationwide."

SCORE counselors provide general business advice on all aspects of
business formation and management. This service is provided free of charge
and in confidential fashion. Counselors may assist in anything from
investigating market potential for a product or service to providing
guidance on cash flow management. They may provide insight into how to
start or operate a business, how to buy a business or franchise, or how to
sell a business. Volunteers also review business plans, often offering
suggestions before the plans are submitted to a bank for financing
consideration (in one survey of SCORE offices in 14 states, 27 percent of
respondents indicated they delayed or canceled plans to start their own
business after talking with a SCORE counselor, usually because the
meetings illuminated shortcomings in training or strategy). Finally,
individual SCORE offices offer free and confidential counseling and
business advice via electronic mail on the Internet. According to the
organization, these e-mail counseling sessions are its fastest growing
service (SCORE offices conducted 75,000 such sessions in 2000).

SCORE also holds workshops throughout the country. Workshops and seminars
on specialized areas of business training such as writing business plans,
inventory control, advertising, financing and international trade are
available at reduced cost (usually a nominal fee of $100 or so, to cover
cost of facilities and materials). For more information on this and other
SCORE services, the organization maintains a web site (
www.score.org
) detailing its offerings.

SCORE VOLUNTEERS
SCORE volunteers (more than 13,000 in 2000) are usually between the ages
of 60 and 70, but there is no age limit for a volunteer. Retired
executives interested in joining SCORE fill out a formal application and
usually supply a resume for consideration by their local chapter. There is
a 90 day probation period during which performance is monitored. To insure
quality, SCORE counselors are matched to cases according to the type of
business or client seeking advice and the counselor's area of
specialty. SCORE is not an employment service, however. Members may give
advice, but may not accept positions with client companies, nor may they
direct a business owner to individuals or firms which may provide
employees. SCORE's main function is to provide free advice to small
businesses.

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User Contributions:

I am being considered for a promotion within my company but they want me to prepare a personal business plan outlining my areas of concentration and action plan for success. HELP!!!! I've never had to do one of these before. Any idea of where I should go to get help?

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